The BEST Oven-Baked BBQ Chicken Recipe

Hey, PBJs! I’m back with another delicious recipe I know you’re gonna love. Y’all have been asking me to create an oven-baked BBQ chicken recipe forever.

And after years of requests, I was finally able to deliver on my promise. It took me a few tries to perfect it, but the recipe is finally complete.

I uploaded a BBQ chicken tutorial to YouTube back in 2014. My subscribers loved the outcome and were so intrigued by how I made it.

As I’ve said many times before, I never used measurements. So in my old tutorials, I would show you how things were made.

My Nana Loved My Baked BBQ Chicken

I remember exactly what I did after recording my BBQ chicken tutorial. I recorded the video and shortly after went to my Nana Alice Mae’s house.

I would always go to see her from 2011–2017 and would often spend the night. I really enjoyed her company, and I always enjoyed conversing with older folks. Lol!

Listen, Alice Mae was something else. She wasn’t your ordinary Nana. If I had to describe her, I’d say she was the real-life Madea.

She always had something slick to say, ain’t take no ish, and could throw jokes with the best of them. Lol!

Those who frequent my site are very familiar with my Nana Alice and the impact she had on me. I learned most of what I know about cooking from her and her daughter Gwendolyn.

Like many of my subscribers, she loved her some BBQ chicken. So I made sure to bring some with me when I stopped by her house. When she tried it, she looked at me, shook her head, and said, “UHn, uhn, uhn, uhn, UHN!” LMBO!

Everyone in our family knows that was an old folks’ thing. If they did that, they were either impressed by something or in disbelief! Lol!

She would always say, “Jarnell, how you make this chicken?” and “What you put in this?” I think it was the flavor from the onions, peppers, and herbs that she loved so much.

It means a lot as a chef when someone compliments your food and expresses how much they enjoy it. It means even more when it comes from the person you learned from, especially when they’re a tough critic.

She’s not the easiest to please, so I knew I had put my foot in it. But as my subs said, all there was to do next was put numbers to it and create a recipe out of it.

Recipe Ingredients

• Meat: You’ll need 4 lbs of chicken for this recipe. You can use thighs as I did for the original recipe, or a mix of thighs, legs, or wings.
• Vegetable add-ins: Yellow onions and green bell peppers.
• Condiments: I like to use honey or sweet n spicy BBQ sauce. Feel free to use original or your favorite BBQ sauce.
• Fat: I like to use a little bit of butter, but if you want to go the healthier route, omit it.
• Liquids: We’re going to bake the chicken in low-sodium broth to enhance the flavor. If you don’t have any on hand, replace it with water. Sometimes I add a pinch of liquid smoke to infuse the chicken with a smoky, grilled flavor. If you decide to add liquid smoke, stick with the recommended amount. Liquid smoke is strong, so when I use it, I only add a little.
• Seasonings: Salt, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, thyme, and black pepper. These seasonings are, in my opinion, the perfect combination for baked BBQ chicken.

Cooking Utensils You’ll Need

• Casserole dish: You’ll need one to bake the BBQ chicken.
• Measuring cups and spoons: Use measuring cups to accurately measure the BBQ sauce, broth, and vegetable add-ins, and measuring spoons to measure the seasonings.

Vegetable Add-Ins

Now, you may look at the ingredients and be taken aback by the peppers and onions. You’re probably wondering what’s the purpose of using them.

I add them for depth of flavor and aesthetic purposes. Not only do I like the subtle flavor they add to the chicken, but I also think they make it look more appetizing.

I was prepping some BBQ chicken and getting ready to put it in the oven. But I noticed I had some leftover chopped onions and peppers from the potato salad I had prepared just minutes before.

There were only a handful of them left. It’s not every day that I add onions and peppers to my food, so I figured I’d just use them instead of letting them go to waste. I was amazed at the effect such a small amount of onions and peppers had on the dish.

It gave the BBQ sauce an extra layer of flavor that I didn’t know it needed. Long story short, I’ve been adding onions and peppers to my BBQ chicken ever since.

Recent 2026 story: I recently cooked a big batch of BBQ chicken for my Aunt Carla’s 60th birthday party. One of her co-workers asked me what the small green pieces she saw in the BBQ were.

She thought it was celery at first until I told her they were chopped green peppers. She said she loved the chicken and that the onions and peppers gave it something special.

I remember my Nana saying she could taste a mild bell pepper flavor in the sauce. Just more confirmation that the onions and peppers were a great addition.

BBQ Sauce

Speaking of BBQ sauce, I like to use Sweet Baby Ray’s. I like the thickness, richness, and dark color of their BBQ sauce. Sometimes I use Kraft’s Honey BBQ or Sweet Baby Ray’s Sweet n Spicy.

Feel free to use your favorite store-bought or homemade BBQ sauce. If you’re making this for a big gathering, I’d recommend using original BBQ sauce.

When to Add the BBQ Sauce

Some people like to put BBQ sauce on their raw chicken before baking it in the oven. Baking the chicken in the sauce allows the liquid to penetrate the skin and soak into the outer layers of the meat.

This is a method my Aunt Beverly used and advised me to try! You can see me add the BBQ sauce to the chicken before placing it in the oven in the video below.

She would poke holes in her chicken, smother it with BBQ sauce while it was raw, then bake it until it was tender and sticky. Here’s why I prefer to add the BBQ sauce after it’s baked for an hour.

• Prevent burning: Baking the BBQ sauce for almost two hours can scorch the BBQ, leaving you with burnt, bitter-tasting BBQ chicken.
• Prevent a soupy mess: Chicken releases a lot of moisture while it bakes, which pushes the sauce off the meat. It dilutes the sauce, turning it into a soupy pan puddle while trapping steam that boils the chicken instead of roasting it.
• Better texture and glaze: Waiting until the end allows you to turn on the broiler for the last few minutes. This quickly caramelizes the sugars, giving you a thick, sticky, grilled-style crust.

Prepping the chicken

There are two steps to the prepping process: cleaning the chicken and removing the excess skin, fat, and slime.

Salt, vinegar, and lemon juice are the common ingredients used to create a solution. Stick with this ratio; use 2 tablespoons of salt, vinegar, or lemon juice per 1 quart of water.

Salt water is great for soaking and gently scrubbing the chicken. Vinegar water is another option, and lemon water can help lighten the chicken’s appearance.

Remove the Excess Skin, Fat, and Slime

• Wings: Slice off any dangling skin near the drumette, then carefully singe and pluck any remaining feathers or hair you may see.
• Clear slime: Thighs and legs have a layer of clear slime under the skin that we must remove. Lift the skin and pull off every last bit of it by hand.
• Yellow joint skin: Look for a stubborn yellow piece at the bottom joint of your drumsticks, aka legs. Try to peel off as much as possible.
• Thigh fat and slime: For thighs, first remove the slime from under the skin. Then use a knife to trim away the yellow fat near the bone and on the edge of the meat.
• Dangling skin: Trim any loose, dangling skin from the thighs and drumsticks. Only remove the excess skin; don’t remove all of it.

How to make Oven Baked BBQ Chicken

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Place chicken in a large baking dish.
3. Add the chopped onions and peppers.
4. Season the chicken.
5. Toss well to ensure the chicken is well-seasoned.
6. Add the butter.
7. Add the broth.
8. Place the chicken in the oven.
9. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, then remove.
10. Combine the BBQ sauce and hickory smoke (optional)
11. Pour the BBQ sauce over the chicken, making sure each side is coated.
12. Bake for 20 more minutes.

Serving suggestions:

All vegetables pair well with chicken, but these are some of my favorites to serve alongside BBQ chicken. If you’re thinking salads…. check out my salad recipes by clicking the links below.

• Soul Food Green Beans
• Delicious Collard Greens
• Sweet Buttery Corn
• Southern Potato Salad
• Deli-Style Macaroni Salad
• Zesty Italian Pasta Salad

Storage and Reheating

• How to store it: Store the chicken in a dish similar to a Tupperware bowl. Seal it tightly with a lid, plastic wrap, or aluminum foil, then refrigerate.
• How to freeze it: To preserve chicken for a long time, store it in the freezer. Just make sure it’s tightly sealed in a Ziploc bag to prevent freezer burn.
• How to reheat in the oven: Place it in a casserole dish and warm it up at 350F for 15-20 minutes or until hot throughout.
• How to reheat it in a microwave: Place it in a microwave-safe dish and heat on high for 90 seconds.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How long does the chicken last? It can last up to 5–7 days if left in the refrigerator and properly sealed. I always recommend eating food within 3 days, though, because that’s when it tastes best.
• How to double the recipe? To double the recipe, double all the ingredients and cook as directed.
• Can I use boneless chicken for this BBQ chicken recipe? Yes. You can use boneless chicken, but keep in mind it cooks faster than bone-in chicken, so adjust the cooking time accordingly.
• How do I keep BBQ chicken from drying out? Avoid overcooking the chicken and don’t bake it at a high temperature for too long. Using bone-in, skin-on chicken can also help keep the meat juicy while it cooks. If you’re super concerned about the chicken drying out, cover it with aluminum foil during the first hour of baking.
• Can I prepare the chicken ahead of time?
  Yes. You can season the chicken the night before, then refrigerate it until you’re ready to bake it.

But enough with the yapping, give this BBQ chicken a shot and let me know how ya like it. If my Nana enjoyed it, I know for sure y’all will. Also, subscribe to receive notifications every time I post a new recipe.

Enjoy, later!

PBJ~

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